Pensacola Inshore Fishing Charters and Instruction at Redfish University-Jan. 28,29 2013– On Monday and Tuesday, we performed two awesome Redfish University instructional fishing trips here in Pensacola, Florida. On Monday, our anglers were interested in learning about the Winter/Spring redfish and speckled trout fishery in the Pensacola Bay system. These guys are recent transplants and very talented bass anglers but just needed some specific guidance on locations, tide info and bait selection. Needless to say, they received all the above and more! We started with some quality speckled trout on some shallow flats way to the south. The fish were hovering over some darker, muddy bottom areas and were more than willing to take Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads and Berkley Havoc Grass Pigs. We really got some nice fish on a few passes with some reaching the 22″ line and most over 18″. Threw some of those on the ice and took off for some shallow redfish action. Found the mullet and found the redfish. Stuck several fish in the 22-30″ range and threw some of those in the cooler. For the remainder of the afternoon, we concentrated on a very productive “milkrun” finding nice numbers of quality redfish and speckled trout in every area we covered. An estimated 60+ speckled trout, 10-12 redfish and a small striper were taken by some great anglers. For today’s instructional Redfish University trip, our clients wanted to learn to sight fish for Pensacola’s bull redfish in shallow, clear water. Big winds, a little cloud-cover and unfavorable tides kept The Professor in full concentration mode today. We suited up our anglers with some Oakley Scalpels and Monster Dogs and we were off to the flats. A bit bumpy in the bay today, but no match for the Pathfinder 2300 HPS which made the sloppy conditions look silly. First stop and there were 18-25# redfish in every pothole. Once our anglers learned to recognize the presence of these huge fish, it was game on. Every accurate cast with a Berkley Gulp! 4″ Shrimp resulted in great cooperation. A few areas were a little turbulent but in all areas we viewed fish in singles, fives, tens...

Pensacola Fishing Charters at Redfish University Jan. 24,25,26 2013. The month of January 2013 has been the highest in client volume and fish production since Redfish University’s creation. A normal January and February can be a slow stretch with perhaps a dozen fishing trips for each month. This Winter season, we’re seeing a significant rise in client booking for two reasons; Redfish University instructional guide trips and beautiful weather with many days in the 60′s and 70′s. We’re looking at twenty trips to date with seventeen trips requesting pure instructional guiding services. This is outstanding and thank you so much!! The angling knowledge in Pensacola continues to grow with hundreds of degrees earned at Redfish University. Late last week for our Thursday, Friday and Saturday trips, we conducted two instructionals and one sight fishing trip for bull redfish. We don’t consider bull redfish trips to be instructional but the shallow water aspect of these Redfish University trips certainly provide some detailed techniques and locational services. For the redfish and speckled trout instructionals, we actually spent most of our time further south on warm shallow flats where larger trout and the legal redfish have remained for the Winter months. This also gives our clients much more variety and ideas for the Spring and Summer when most of our clients will be fishing on their own. Again, big numbers of speckled trout with 40-60 hitting the boat and better numbers of redfish than we’re seen in past weeks. Berkley Gulp! always gets the call! For the bull redfish, we stayed on shallow bars and flats to pick out 1′s, 5′s and 10′s and placed Berkley Gulp! 4″ Shrimp in their path. Some speckled trout and redfish found their way into the cooler, with many released and all larger redfish released. Looking forward to this afternoon’s Redfish University’s instructional trip and the rest of the week with the exception of Thursday if anyone wants it!! If not, we’ll make some phone calls. Monday-Saturday, happy days and awesome fishing at Redfish U!! Also, welcome Capt. Brant Peacher! Many knowledgable and excited reports to come!! Take care, E...

The instructional sessions for redfish and speckled trout at Redfish University in Pensacola, Florida just keep on coming. Redfish University continues to be the only plausible instructional guide service on the Gulf Coast for anglers seeking the best in education, location and techniques for inshore saltwater fishing. The weather has been fabulous and the redfish/speckled trout production and instruction has been even better. Both Tuesdays and Wednesdays trips were focused on a wide range of techniques, baits and locations depending on tides, weather conditions, wind speed and water clarity. During both trips, we started fast and furious to secure quick limits of speckled trout, a few redfish and even some small 2-3# stripers for the cooler and then proceeded to cover multiple areas, techniques and even some Spring-time areas a bit further south to give our clients a headstart once the warmer weather arrives. Sometimes our clients can be overwhelmed with such a plethora of information but at Redfish University, our clients receive a complimentary set of detailed and labeled GoogleEarth maps of areas targeted as well as a listing of techniques covered and equipment used such as baits, line, fluoro, rods and reels, etc. Each trip found several speckled trout and redfish in the cooler with over 50 speckled trout, a handful of over-sized redfish and a few stripers released properly. Looking forward to tomorrow’s easy bull redfish outing and then a solid schedule for next week including an instructional in Destin and S. Mobile Bay. Yep, we can do it all!! Thanks again, E...

It’s been an outstanding month for fishing and a high volume of instructional as well as regular guided trips at Redfish University. Late last week and over the long weekend, Redfish University performed some excellent redfish and speckled trout instructional guide trips here in Pensacola, Florida. The month of January has proven to be a very steady month with an average of four trips per week. Lots of bad weather days that have forced a few rescheduled trips but if this Winter is any indication of what the rest of the year will bring, we will far surpass our expectations again in 2013 and will be on track for the 300 trip mark! We had some great weather and tides over the weekend for our instructional purposes and the fish seemed to just fly into the boat. Guided some groups of pretty talented anglers, some new to the area and some that were frustrated with a sometimes difficult and inconsistent Winter fishery. Each trip yielded 30-50 speckled trout with most being quality, legal fish, a handful of redfish(inconsistent lately), a few flounder and even a few stripers in the 2-3# range. While showing curious clients some areas for stripers and small speckled trout well up river during big cold fronts, it was strange and disappointing to see so many boats far up the rivers looking for quality fish. Oh well, it’s also a great place to prospect for potential Redfish University instructional clients. WARM SHALLOW WATER. Looking forward to another nice run of Redfish University instructionals this week and teaching area anglers the secrets of Winter fishing in Pensacola. Take care, E...

My 250 h.p. Yamaha VMAX SHO Four Stroke Gets The Mornings Off I spend most of the morning on the trolling motor, but the afternoons the engine gets worked hard running and gunning By Eric Holstman Yamaha Pro Staff This is the time of the year when my engine gets a lot of use on a regular basis, but often has the mornings off. I’ll start my day around 5:30 a.m. and have my customers meet me in Pensacola, then ride with me as we trailer my boat up to Blackwater River or some of the other rivers off Pensacola Bay, which is a 20- 30 mile run. It’s a real small area, so we’ll launch the boat and not have to run very far. It’s pretty cold in the morning, so there’s no reason to make that long run by boat. From the ramp, we may only run a mile or two, and then spend the rest of the morning on the trolling motor working the shorelines for seatrout and redfish. So my 250 h.p. Yamaha VMAX SHO four stroke basically gets the morning off. Over the course of the next four hours we’ll catch 40 to 60 seatrout and six or seven redfish. This is the time of the year when some of the big bull reds push up into the river, so most mornings there will be a few of them in the mix. It’s all just a warm-up for the afternoon, because when the sun gets up, I’ll make the run back to Pensacola, put the boat in downtown, and then chase the big bull redfish in the middle of the bay. What that requires is running around looking for the birds and the bait and actual schools of redfish on the surface. Once you find the fish you want to position the boat up-wind from them, turn off the motor and trolling motor into casting range. The fish are super aggressive, so double and triple headers are the norm. The drawback is that once you hook a couple of fish and land them the school has gone down and you have to hunt for...

For professional, credible and qualified Inshore Saltwater Fishing Instruction in Pensacola, Florida, Redfish University is your only choice. During a volatile weather month like January, we’ll gladly take four trips per week at Redfish University. We’ve had a nice stretch of warm weather and overcast skies here in Pensacola which has made fishing very comfortable for the masses of Redfish University clients and has made targeting redfish and speckled trout very, very easy. Today and yesterday afternoon, we were forced to postpone two trips due to rain, high winds and very cold temperatures but the regular locals always have the luxury of rescheduling at Redfish University. Huge catches of quality speckled trout has continued with 40-60 trout per trip including some large fish in the last few days in the 4-6# range. The redfish have been all over the place in location and in size. Most fish are being taken in less than 3′ of water near small groups of mullet. These fish will range from 17-33″ with most being inside the 18-27″ range. The most popular baits are Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads in camo and Johnson 1/4oz Gold Spoons although a Sebile Bonga Minnow has taken its share in the last few days, especially in warmer conditions. The speckled trout have been consistent on Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads in camo/rootbeer rigged on a jighead or the now well known Redfish University drop-shot rig. During days with high winds, boat positioning can mean the difference between catching 70 fish and catching nothing. Because many of the fish will be found on wind-blown and side-wind banks, boat control is of the utmost importance. Providing your anglers with the optimal angles and the ability to cast with the wind 100% of the time, will insure optimal success for catching redfish and speckled trout. Yet, another one of many important techniques you will not learn elsewhere. Big things and small things will make the difference in your angling success. Two trips were catch and release and one trip took some speckled trout for a fish fry. We’re looking forward to the Redfish University Yamaha Staff Blog due out in a few days focusing on...